Above:Protestant Propaganda illustrating the practice of Indulgences
THe Protestant Reformation
The Protestant reformation began in the 1500's when a Roman Catholic monk names Martin Luther began to rebel against the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1400 and 1500's the Roman Catholic Church was experiencing rampant corruption within the institution. The Roman Catholic church had immense power in Europe, with that power the Church became corrupted. Martin Luther believed that the Church had strayed away from it focus on faith and focused more on wealth and material needs. The Church practiced the selling of indulgences, or the use of payment to absolve ones self from sin. The money collected from the selling of indulgences were used to build cathedrals throughout Europe, one of the The church also practiced the use of relics, items that were from the dead bodies of saints which they believed had spiritual value.